Dangers of Sexism

The Dangers of Sexism The world has grown into a much better place. In the United States and other progressive nation, the Civil Rights Movements worked to eliminate racism; however, sexism is still a big concern to the society. Although many people have fought for the equal rights of women and men, sexism still exists in this modern world. In addition, sexism becomes a dangerous thing in society. Sexism does not only slow the growing of the economy, it increases the rate of crime, and also gender-based violence. Sexism eliminates the growth of the economy in a country.

In today world, there are 75 million children who do not go to primary school, and more than half of them are girls. In a poor community, girls are more likely to be pulled out of school at an early age for many reasons. Mostly it is because the tuition is too high, and the families want the girls to help with housework. However, nowadays, all the jobs require at least a high school diploma. Therefore, when the girls are deprived of school, it will be hard for them to find a job. It will not only affect an individual but also the whole country.

When a girl can’t get a job, they will be unemployment, and the higher the unemployment, the lower the GDP will be. As Bill Gates said, “Well, if you’re not fully utilizing half the talent in the country, you’re not going to get too close to the Top 10” (Wudunn). Let’s compare the GNI of US and Africa! There is a huge difference in the numbers. United States gives everyone an equal chance in education, and its GNI – Gross National Income per capita is $48,112 USD in 2011 (“United States of America”). Sub-Saharan Africa is the country that has the highest rate of sexism, and its GNI per capita is $1,257 in 2011 (“Sub-Saharan Africa”).

Equal right of education for girls will empower the economy of the country. Moreover, it has been proven that putting money in the hands of women will have a positive long-term effect on the whole family. For every dollar a woman earns, she invests 80 cents in her family. Men, on the other hand, invest around 30 cents and are more likely to squander money on alcohol and other vices (Economic Empowerment). Therefore, in order to gain access to better jobs and higher wages, women need equal opportunities for education and skilled training. In that way, the economy will get stronger.

Furthermore, sexism increases the rate of sex slaves and prostitution. On some countries, girls and women was treated poorly. According to Half The Sky Movement movie, there are many girls that were sold to the brothels by their parents. In addition, there are also some of the girls with poor education, without knowledge of the dangers of life; they were deceived by others to become prostitutes. Some enter prostitution when they are only 4 or 6 years old. If they refuse to do it, they will be locked in the dark room without any food or drink, and be beat ruthlessly.

In some of the situations, the owners of brothels lure the girls and women into drugs or alcohol. In a result, it will build up their dependency and use this addiction as a mean of control. In an interview with a girl who escaped from the brothel, she said that she was required to take 20-30 customers a day, even when she was wounded and bleeding. Most important, for those girls who are rescued from the brothels, they will be seen as “dirty”. Their families don’t want them because they’re no longer useful, and the families are ashamed of them.

Here is another story of sexism: in Asia country, there’re lots of businesses that sell girls and women. For around 1000-2000 USD, a man can buy a woman to be his wife (“Mua Vo Viet”). The customer will be taken into a room full of naked women, and they get to choose the one they like. There will be some add-on money if the customer wants a virgin. Women become a thing to buy or sell. Many of them, after the marriage, have to please their husband as if they are slaves. If they do something wrong, they get beaten by their husband. Some of them can’t survive from it and they die (“Phap Luat”). It’s sad but it’s totally the true.

How could something like that happen in this modern life? Finally, sexism is the biggest factor that causes gender-based violence. Gender-based violence happens everywhere and it’s getting more serious. Globally, one out of three women will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, with rates of abuse reaching 70% in some countries (“Gender-based Violence”). In Vietnamese newspapers, there is always a story about a woman who gets beaten by her husband or a girl who has been raped. It happens too often that people starts to think it’s normal for a husband to beat his wife, but it’s not that simple.

There’s a woman who is from the countryside, and she comes to the city to find job. She’s beautiful and attractive. One day, she meets a very charming man who is rich. She got into a relationship with him and they get married really fast. However, the marriage is not what she thought it would be. That man is so rich that he developed a weird hobby; he liked to maltreat his wife, even when she was pregnant. Then of course she lost the baby and since she was bleeding too much, she died (“Tan Nat Doi Hoa”). Unfortunately, death may seem a blessing a much easier way for women who experience violence!

Some of them need to used drugs and alcohol and become addicted in order to get over those experiences. It was proven that women who are abused by their partners are less likely to earn a living and less able to care for their children. Many governments across the globe continue to turn a blind eye to this violence. Today, 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not outlawed and more than 2. 6 billion live in countries where rape within marriage is not considered a crime. In South Africa, a woman is killed every 6 hours by intimate partner (“Gender-based Violence”).

Sexism is very dangerous for society. It will eliminate the economic growth of a country; increase the rate of crime; and the occurrence gender-based violence. It not only affected an individual but also a community. Therefore, government should stop sexism and provide equal rights for both genders. Each individual should also put a hand to help the movement against sexism. In that way, everyone can enjoy a better world. Works Cited “Economic Empowerment. ” Half The Sky. Haft The Sky Movement, n. d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. “Gender-Based Violence. ” Half The Sky. Haft The Sky Movement, n. d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. Hughes, Donna M. Vietnam – Facts on Trafficking and Prostitution. ” Vietnam – Facts on Trafficking and Prostitution. Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation, n. d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. “Mua Vo Viet. ” CAND. CAND, n. d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. “Phap Luat. ” GDTD. GDTD, n. d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. “Sub-Saharan Africa. ” The World Bank. The World Bank, n. d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. “Tan Nat Doi Hoa. ” Dantri. Dantri, n. d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. “United States of America. ” Knoema. Knoema, n. d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. Wudunn, Nicholas D. Kristof And Sheryl, and Sheryl WuDunn. “The Women’s Crusade. ” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Aug. 2009. Web. 02 Mar. 2013.